Sally J Ling

Out of Mind, out of Sight: a Revealing History of the Florida State Hospital at Chattahoochee and Mental Health Care in Florida Sally J Ling

Publisher Marketing: KINDLE BOOK REVIEW, 2014 KINDLE BOOK AWARDS SEMIFINALIST Out of Mind, Out of Sight is a revealing history of the Florida State Hospital at Chattahoochee from construction of its original buildings in 1834 as part of the Chattahoochee Federal Arsenal during the Second Seminole War, to its current role-treating individuals who have been civilly and forensically committed. To put the Florida State Hospital at Chattahoochee in perspective, the story is set against a backdrop of the evolution of institutionalized mental health care both in the U. S. and Florida where new emerging treatments-insulin, Metrozol and electroconvulsive (ECT) shock therapies, as well as lobotomies-became part of patient treatment plans. For years, the Florida State Hospital at Chattahoochee had quite a reputation-most of it bad; but, the institution was not alone. For decades throughout the country, state facilities earned shocking reputations for their inadequate care and mistreatment of the mentally ill. Even more chilling was the incarceration of thousands of men and women who were not mentally ill at all, but due to ignorance and prejudice on the part of the public, medical profession, and court system, were confined for epilepsy, sunbathing nude, smoking, menopause or other "egregious" offenses. Some may wonder why an account of the obscure facility at Chattahoochee is important. The answer lies in its dual role as historic physical facility and evolving mental institution that, when combined, paint a poignant portrait of Florida-its history, its laws and its people; and it is incumbent upon historians to preserve this picture-the good, the bad, and the ugly-for generations to come. Contributor Bio:  Ling, Sally J Sally J. Ling is an author, speaker and historian. She writes historical fiction and nonfiction on fascinating, yet little known, Florida topics. As a special correspondent, she wrote for the Sun Sentinel newspaper for four years and was a contributing journalist for Boca Raton, Gold Coast, Delray Beach, Boca Life and Palm Beacher magazines. Sally appeared in two TV documentaries ("Gangsters"-National Geographic Channel and "Prohibition and the South Florida Connection"-WLRN, Miami) based upon excerpts from her book Run the Rum In. She served as associate producer on the latter production. She has been a guest on South Florida PBS TV and radio stations, a guest presenter at the Lifelong Learning Society at Florida Atlantic University, Future Authors of America, and guest speaker at numerous organizations, schools and historical societies. Sally's books include: Small Town, Big Secrets: Inside the Boca Raton Army Airfield during World War II Run the Rum In: South Florida during Prohibition A History of Boca Raton Phillip's Great Adventures: Spies, Root Beer and Alligators Fund Raising with Golf Sally lives in Deerfield Beach, Florida. For information on Sally's current projects or to engage her as a speaker, please visit her website at: sallyjling.com